Fleete Boosts Charging Infrastructure for Commercial Electric Vehicles

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An electric fleet infrastructure business, which installs, manages, and finances charging infrastructure, is being launched by Macquarie Asset Management’s Green Investment Group to help operators transition to electric vehicles.

The business, called Fleete, is designed for operators of electric commercial vehicles, including buses, trucks, and vans. It uses a charging-as-a-service model and bases the infrastructure on individual fleet requirements.

The United Kingdom-based Fleete says it will use technology-driven services that use the latest charging infrastructure that can evolve as an electric fleet grows. The company will provide subscription-based installation of high-powered charging equipment.

The infrastructure will include charging capabilities of 60 kilowatts to 600 kilowatts depending on specific fleet requirements. The fast-charging systems enable efficient overnight charging and quick charges, according to Fleete, and could potentially charge vehicles to provide a range of more than 60 miles in 10 minutes.

Buses and trucks account for less than 2% of vehicles on the road in Europe, but they produce 23% of the carbon emissions on the continent. EY projects Europe will need 65 million electric vehicle chargers and infrastructure investment of $134 billion by 2035 as more than 130 million electric vehicles hit the road.

BloombergNEF says there are 445,000 public chargers installed in Europe. EY told Bloomberg that there needs to be 500,000 chargers installed every year through 2030 and then 1 million a year from 2030 to 2035 to meet the increased demand for electric vehicles.

In the UK, a recent report from Webfleet and Bridgestone shows most fleet operators believe net zero is attainable, but that it will still be more than eight years until they achieve decarbonization.

Electric fleet infrastructure is also a growing trend across many companies from IKEA to Amazon. Those companies are among those that are installing thousands of charging stations and adding fleet management systems. A similar system by Synop is designed to make commercial fleets more feasible by putting vehicle operations and energy management on a single platform.

Fleete will help develop large-scale charging stations where vehicles are parked overnight. The company will also build hybrid hubs for smaller operators and is looking to develop charging infrastructure hubs in cities and sites such as parking lots that can be used for electric vehicles of all sizes, especially light commercial vehicles.

The company also says it will support trucks and larger vehicle fleets by building rapid chargers close to roadways and transportation networks.

As part of its offering, Fleete will give recommendations on the design, build, and operation of charging infrastructure sites as well as the types of electric vehicles fleet operators can choose. The system also helps manage charging schedules to use energy during the lowest demand times possible.

“The deployment of electric fleet charging infrastructure is currently in its infancy – but demand is set to grow exponentially,” Fleete CEO Dan Bentham says. “Fleete has been created to support this large-scale transition to electric commercial vehicles.”